Sinigang (Filipino Sour Tamarind Soup)

About This Recipe

Sinigang is the Filipino national soup and arguably the dish that best captures the country's culinary identity: bright, clean, sour, deeply savoury and almost obsessively comforting. The defining note is asim — sourness — which can come from green tamarind (sampalok), young guava, calamansi, kamias (bilimbi), green mango, or unripe tomatoes; each souring agent gives the soup a distinct character but all are unified by the puckering, mouth-watering acidity that defines the genre. The classic version, sinigang na baboy, uses pork spareribs simmered with daikon, taro root, eggplant, long beans (sitaw), water spinach (kangkong) and the small fierce siling pangsigang chili pepper that gives a faint background heat without overpowering. The broth is purposefully thin and crystal-clear — sinigang is not a stew or a stock, but a soup served alongside steaming rice, traditionally poured generously over each spoonful of rice or eaten in alternating sips and forkfuls. It is the rainy-afternoon comfort food, the dish a Filipino abroad craves most, and the meal that gathers families around the table the moment the smell rises from the kitchen. Easy to scale up, forgiving in technique, and infinitely adaptable to whatever protein and vegetables you have on hand — sinigang is the platonic ideal of weeknight cooking.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 1 kgpork spareribs, cut between the bones into 5 cm pieces
• 1 largeonion, quartered
• 2 largetomatoes, quartered
• 1.8 Lwater
• 60 gfresh tamarind pods (or 1 packet of sinigang mix as a shortcut)
• 1 mediumdaikon radish, cut into 2 cm half-moons
• 1 smalltaro root (gabi), peeled and cubed (optional, thickens broth slightly)
• 1 Asianeggplant, cut into 3 cm chunks
• 8long beans (sitaw) or green beans, cut into 7 cm lengths
• 1 bunchkangkong (water spinach) or regular spinach, roughly chopped
• 2–3long green chilies (siling pangsigang), kept whole
• 2–3 tbsppatis (fish sauce), to taste

Instructions

1. 1

   Boil and skim the pork

   Place pork ribs, onion, tomatoes and water in a large pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, then immediately reduce to a strong simmer. Skim off all the grey foam that rises to the top for the first 5 minutes — this is what keeps sinigang's broth crystal-clear instead of cloudy.

2. 2

   Simmer the pork tender

   Cover partially and simmer 45 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the pork is fork-tender and the broth has reduced slightly. The tomatoes and onion will have melted into the liquid, giving it body without thickening.

3. 3

   Extract the tamarind

   If using fresh tamarind pods, simmer them separately in 250 ml of water for 10 minutes, then mash and strain through a sieve — discard the seeds and fibers. You should have about 200 ml of intense sour tamarind liquid. If using sinigang mix, simply add the packet directly to the broth.

4. 4

   Add the tamarind and root vegetables

   Stir the tamarind extract into the simmering broth. Add the daikon and (if using) the taro. Simmer 10 minutes until the daikon is translucent at the edges. The broth should now taste assertively sour but still balanced — adjust by adding more tamarind if needed.

5. 5

   Add eggplant and long beans

   Add eggplant, long beans and the whole green chilies. Simmer 6 minutes uncovered. The eggplant should be soft but holding its shape; the chilies will perfume the broth without releasing too much heat (since they're whole).

6. 6

   Season and add kangkong

   Add fish sauce 1 tablespoon at a time, tasting between each. The finished broth should be sour-first, salty-second, never overly salty. Finally toss in the kangkong leaves and stems — they need only 90 seconds to wilt; longer and they go grey.

7. 7

   Serve over hot rice

   Ladle generous portions into deep bowls, making sure each gets ribs, a mix of vegetables, and plenty of broth. Serve alongside steaming jasmine rice and a small dish of patis with sliced bird's-eye chili for those who want to add more salt and heat at the table.

Variations

• •

  Sinigang na hipon — substitute prawns for pork; cook just 4 minutes total at the end.

• •

  Sinigang na isda — use bangus (milkfish) or tilapia; gentler and lighter.

• •

  Sinigang sa miso — Pampanga style with miso paste added for umami depth.

• •

  Sinigang sa bayabas — use ripe guava instead of tamarind for a sweeter, more floral sour.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 3 days in a sealed container; the flavor deepens overnight. Reheat gently in a saucepan, adding the leafy greens fresh each time. Freezes 2 months without leafy vegetables (add fresh greens when reheating).

Frequently Asked Questions